FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 26, 2024

Tree care professionals, projects recognized at 2024 Texas Tree Conference

WACO, Texas – Texas A&M Forest Service and the Texas Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISAT) recognized the Texas Tree Award winners at the 44^th annual Texas Tree Conference in Waco, Texas, today.  

The Texas Tree Awards Program celebrates the accomplishments of those who have dedicated their talents to the protection, planning and proliferation of their Texas community forest canopy. This program is open to anyone who has a role in building stronger Texas communities by planting, maintaining or protecting trees. 

Michael Nentwich was named the 2024 Texas Arborist of the Year.  

Each year, an outstanding individual is awarded the Texas Arborist of the Year award recognizing their contributions to arboriculture and community forestry. Nominees are evaluated for their leadership, commitment, innovation, impact and sustainability in the field.

Nentwich has been a leader in Texas arboriculture for years and has demonstrated unwavering dedication and significant contributions to preserving and expanding the urban tree canopy throughout the San Antonio region. His commitment extends beyond tree planting, as he actively educates the public and industry professionals alike.  As the founder and president of Bexar Branches Alliance, he has significantly impacted programs like the Tree Buds Citizen Forester, Project CANOPY and Rooted Resilience Program. This last program provides essential tree care services to low-income homeowners in low-canopy, high-risk areas. His extensive experience in both the public and private sectors was crucial in creating this comprehensive program.

Nentwich's expertise has been instrumental in the efforts of the Arboretum San Antonio, where he has contributed to tree identification, the master planning process, planting 140 trees in a temporary nursery and promoting the arboretum's mission and efforts. Additionally, his involvement in the Tamox Talom food forest at Padre Park has expanded this four-acre Indigenous food forest, making it a vital source of fresh, local food and a hub of environmental sustainability, wellness and community connection. 

The 2024 Award for Outstanding Landscape Improvement was awarded to the City of Fort Worth Forestry Section for the Como Neighborhood Improvement program.  

The award recognizes individuals, organizations or municipalities that have made significant contributions through tree planting, care and landscaping which enhances environmental protection, conservation, energy conservation or wildlife protection with significant impact over the years.  

In 2021 Como was selected for the Neighborhood Improvement Program with the City of Fort Worth. This program utilizes an objective scoring process to identify and analyze areas with the greatest need and yield the highest benefit. The targeted Como area measures 0.8 square miles and is home to over 1,900 residents. Public stakeholder meetings took place in the neighborhood and city departments to determine a handful of programs trusted to bring positive improvements to the community. These programs included hazardous tree removal, pruning and planting initiatives.  

The Forestry Hazard Abatement Program inspected the 0.8 square miles in the spring of 2022 to determine any trees on city property that were deemed hazardous or needed pruning. Concluding in 2023, they removed 43 dead, hazardous or nuisance trees and pruned 18.4 linear miles of street rights-of-way. Following pruning and removal, residents could respond to a survey requesting a tree be professionally planted, maintained and watered for the next two years. While the service was intended to serve the first 200 requests, the demand for it increased and 266 trees were planted.   

The Como neighborhood project shows how much the community cares for reinvestment in their area. This investment in tree removal, pruning and planting shows that a difference can be made when communities work together to better their neighborhoods and homes. 

The 2024 Outstanding Community Forestry Program Award recipient is the City of San Marcos for the Friends of Trees Program.

The award recognizes individuals, organizations or municipalities that have promoted community forestry through a program that significantly engages, educates or enhances the community.

The Friends of Trees program was launched in 2018 as part of a city-wide initiative focused on volunteer-led tree care activities around playgrounds in neighborhood parks. Each project varies by location, with activities including comprehensive forest management best practices such as pruning, planting, spreading compost and mulch, conducting root collar excavations and root pruning. Volunteers gain hands-on experience in proper tree care, allowing them to replicate and share these practices within their own homes and communities.

Impressively, the program operated without a budget for its first five years. Through grant funding, they were able to secure the tools and trees needed for giveaways during this period. Over the last two years, Friends of Trees and its volunteers have cared for more than 400 trees annually. They have hosted six to eight public tree care events each year, including eight tree giveaways that distributed 1,800 native trees and 600 fruit trees. Informational signage is also installed explaining the work completed at the park. 

These events not only encompass a city-wide tree initiative but also target specific neighborhoods in disadvantaged communities, areas with low canopy coverage and capital improvement projects. Together this program has provided support to almost 30 neighborhood parks, regional parks, public facilities and natural areas across the city.  

The 2024 Arboricultural Project of the Year Award recipient is Bexar Branches Alliance for the Rita Kay Driggers Elementary School planting in Leon Valley.

Following the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, teachers sought to bring students together in a more interactive way by taking them outside, and one of the challenges they faced was finding enough shaded areas to safely engage the students. Bexar Branches Alliance, Northside Independent School District and the City of Leon Valley partnered to plant 500 trees on school campuses for participating fourth and fifth grade classes.

On Nov. 3, 2023, the Bexar Branches Alliance, Driggers students and volunteers planted 120 trees at Rita K Driggers Elementary School in Leon Valley. These trees will be integrated into the fifth grade curriculum. Bexar Branches Alliance is paying for watering and maintenance of these trees for the next two years. This planting contributed to Leon Valley reaching its planting goal of 10,000 trees in 2023. 

Award recipients were given a framed, limited edition, remarked print of a famous Texas tree by artist Ronnie Wells from Salado, Texas, for their outstanding achievement.

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Photos:Click here to view and download photos from the 2024 Texas Tree Conference.    

Contacts:

Texas A&M Forest Service Communications, 979-458-6606, newsmedia@tfs.tamu.edu